


Closer Than Brothers

by Starflight_Leader_of_the_Shattered_Ones



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Creativitwins, Dragon-witch, Fantasy, Gen, Human AU, Royalty AU, manticore-chimera
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:35:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25005529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starflight_Leader_of_the_Shattered_Ones/pseuds/Starflight_Leader_of_the_Shattered_Ones
Summary: THIS IS NOT R/MR/M. Once upon a time, twins Roman and Remus were close, but over time spent separated the prince and the duke grew apart. Now Roman wants to see his brother again. Not that much could have changed... right?
Comments: 4
Kudos: 3





	1. The Prince’s Life

Roman was the prince of Telos, yet to come of age. His father had died before he was born, and his mother left Roman soon enough after birth that he didn't remember her, so his cousins, Logan, Patton, and Virgil took care of him. It wasn’t easy living under their care, though. They seldom even let him out of the castle, and he could never leave his kingdom.

Not to say that life in the palace was without its restrictions as well. The prince was allowed virtually free roam of the grounds, but there were a few rooms he could never enter. He would have snuck in already, but there was a special way to activate the doors that he didn’t know yet, and there was no other way inside. His cousins could open them. They put their hand on the door, a small light flared a color, and the door slid aside. However he tried, Roman hadn’t quite worked out how to replicate this, and none of the others had ever bothered to teach him.

They weren’t usually around, either. At least, not anymore. When he was younger, at least one of them was there nearly all the time, but as he grew older, he didn’t need them to do as much for him as they had previously. In fact, they’d sort of distanced themselves from him altogether, even Patton, with whom he’d been particularly close. 

He stood out on the balcony that overlooked the city, resting on the banister. It wasn’t remarkably poor, but it wasn’t particularly decorative either. Really, it looked a little like something out of a fairy tale, except slightly modernized.

While the sunset tonight was magnificent, as many were here, Roman couldn’t linger out there for long. He put his crown on a pedestal inside and changed into the clothes of the commoners to disguise himself as one of them. He couldn’t let the citizens at the theater know who he really was, but he did have to get to rehearsal.

~0~

Roman was told that forms of entertainment such as plays were below royalty like him when he was four years old. When his cousins then let him explore his kingdom for some time the next day, he bought a ticket to a show, simply because it was supposedly forbidden. He was nearly caught, but that was the day that he fell in love with theater. The costumes, the characters, the story-live performance was the passion he wanted to pursue.

He knew he’d have to be more careful if he wanted to come back and perform, so he learned to sew, and made garments far less fancy than what he wore in the castle to disguise himself as a citizen. Since then, he’d spent many years serving in the theater. Sometimes he worked backstage, but he found he preferred being one of the actors - and if he didn’t get a part, set design was always fun.

Roman was also known for bringing many new concepts to the table. He was the one who first introduced the idea of adding music to some shows, and ways to make the set look even more realistic.

This year, the prince had gotten the lead role in the play. He was happy in this life of performing. Usually. Lately, though, he’d been feeling something else. A feeling that something was missing, one he’d felt forever but noticed only recently. He tried to ignore it, but it’s not the kind of thing that just goes away.

No matter. He’d just learn to live with it.

Before he left, he wrote a short letter to his brother. It had been a long time since they'd last seen each other, and Roman wanted to talk to him again. He tossed the letter in the fire pit by the door and let the green fire take it to its destination as he ran over to the theater.


	2. The Duke’s Life

Neblanc was distinct from the kingdoms. They were ruled by, well, a king or a prince. They were kept tranquil, orderly. Neblanc was ruled by a duke. Here, the streets were filled with rubble and junk, and fires were started all the time.

It was utter chaos, and Remus loved it.

Of course, Deceit had other opinions on this. Well, he went by Deceit, anyway. He’d insisted on that name for as long as Remus could remember, and refused to go by anything else. Remus had reflected on his cousin’s thoughts about how to rule. Why should he care? Deceit had rarely even checked in on him anyway, and the last time was years ago.

~0~

_Five years ago_

_“I don't see the problem, Dee. The people can do whatever, as long as they understand I’m in charge.”_

_“That’s exactly the problem, Remus. And don’t call me that! You know perfectly well that you can’t just let citizens run wild! That’s how you end up falling out of power!” Deceit starts to storm out of the room, but stops near the door. “If you think you can do this on your own,” he said, “then you can rule on your own. I don’t care.”_

~0~

That was the last time he had seen his cousin. Typically, it didn’t bother him. If his cousin didn’t care about him, then so be it! But lately, the loneliness had left him noticing a different underlying feeling. Something was missing. He just couldn’t place his finger on what.

Whatever. He’d just ignore it.

Bored in the castle, Remus had been considering heading out and causing more chaos, or maybe causing some inside, when he found a letter had materialized in the fire pit. It was from his brother, Roman. It had been so long since they last spoke, they'd both kind of drifted away from each other when their cousins separated them. Why wait until now to contact him?

He began reading the letter.

_Dear Remus,_

_I know we've had our... differences in the past,-Hah! That was putting it mildly-but it's been years since we last saw each other and I wanted to speak to you again. I'm sure we both have a lot to catch up on_ -Oh, he had no fucking idea- _so I'm inviting you to my castle for the week._

_I hope to see you soon,_

_Roman_

_P.S. Don't tell the cousins. They don't know and never will._

There were a lot of things the cousins didn't and never would know. Remus was about to visit one of them now. He would be leaving right away, but he had to say goodbye to someone first.

He searched his home until he found her. “Kasia,” he called as the manticore-chimera came into view. The creature ran to him as soon as he entered, knocking him over in excitement. She might have still been young, but she had certainly grown since he first found her in the forest behind his castle, abandoned by her parents. He’d tamed the wild creature, and taken her in as a pet. “C’mon, girl. I gotta put you away. I don’t want to, but I’m leaving soon, and we both know I can’t let you roam free with no supervision.” He led her partway down a hall and opened a door that looked like a giant painting on the wall. But it wasn’t just a giant painting, because what kind of castle doesn’t have any secret passageways? These hidden tunnels went everywhere inside and outside the castle, and even went to the others. But there was one room he needed right now.

Traveling the familiar paths, he found the room where he kept his pet back when Deceit still visited. A couple years after he stopped coming, he let her explore the castle as she pleased, but once when he’d left her alone while he was gone for a few hours, she caused more chaos in the castle than even he could imagine, and now whenever he left he had to lock her away again. They both hated it.

Petting the goat head, he told her, “I don’t want to leave you locked up here like this, but I’m going somewhere for a few days, and I can’t bring you with me. I’ll try to visit when I can.” It was the best he could comfort her. Then he tossed in a few of her favorite toys and left, somewhat heavy-hearted, to grab everything he would need for a week at his brother’s and took the passageway there.


	3. The Duke’s Arrival

Impatiently awaiting his brother’s arrival, Roman began walking around the palace, until he found himself at the door he could never open again. He attempted to open it again, but no luck. Fifteen years, eleven of which he’d previously spent trying, and he still couldn’t do it. He didn’t dwell on it too long though. Nothing much ever came of dwelling. He thought he heard something slam shut nearby. He went to check, finding nothing. Must have been my imagination, he thought, before something startled him from behind. Heart pounding, he turned around to see a very familiar face.

“You know, you could have contacted me sooner, brother.”

“I see you’ve hardly changed since we were young.” Besides the mustache, he left out.

“Drop the formalities already, you’re boring me.”

Excited to see his brother again, Roman pulled Remus into a hug.

“Woah, okay. Seriously, if you missed me this much, why didn’t you call me over sooner?”

“You know-”

“That we weren’t supposed to be together. Cut the crap. When was the last time any of them checked in on you?”

He had a point. They had not come in a long time.

“Their lives,” he started, gesturing to the outside, “have become more important to them than our lives,” he finished, pointing at both of them. “Now that they’re ignoring us, we can do whatever we want!”

As much as he hated to admit it, his brother was right about that. They weren’t really part of their lives anymore.

“So, whatcha got to do around here?”

“Admittedly, I was kind of hoping you would have some ideas.”

“So you’ve got nothing hidden around here? No fun places in town to visit? They’ve gotta love you down there, you being the prince and all.”

“You and I have clearly been spending our time apart very differently.” Remus’ suggestions might have been a little crazy, but perhaps the idea of taking him into town wasn't too bad, as long as he was careful. “Alright, well, we could go down to the kingdom. Get changed.”

“Changed? What do you mean?”

“You can’t go down there looking like the Duke of Neblanc. You need to look like one of them.”

“You’re right, we have been spending our time apart very differently.”

“So you have nothing to hide your identity.”

“I’ve never had to, so no.”

The prince sighed, moderately disappointed. “I’ll make you something, but that means we can’t leave until tomorrow”

This caused his brother to burst into laughter. “You’re gonna make me something? Are you a seamstress now?”

“Shut up. You sound like a crazed…” He blanked on an alliterative word to match it with.

“I’m gonna go pick a room while you think of something to insult me with. Bye!”


	4. Late Night Thoughts

Remus had already spent a few hours wandering around his brother’s castle, finding the layout very similar to his own, except slightly larger. The passageways were the same too, which meant he didn’t have to memorize a whole new set of tunnels, and he could scare his brother anytime he wanted.

He had no idea how Roman had survived for ten years with nothing to do in the castle. There was absolutely nothing to do. He was pretty sure Roman didn’t know about the passageways, and he didn’t have any fun pets either, or any at all for that matter. It did sound like people knew him down in the kingdom. Just not as Prince Roman.

But until they could go down there, he had time to kill. He eventually found himself at an odd looking door. Although he hadn’t seen it in ten years, he knew it from the time he’d spent trying to open it with Roman. He wondered if he still tried to open it in their time apart.

He wondered if he ever got it open.

He decided to try to get in the room one more time, but with a slightly different approach. Grabbing his morning star, he took a swing at the door. It just bounced off, not even leaving a dent, or any sort of marking that showed his attempt.

Stupid magic door, he thought. Why’s it gotta be so damn hard to open?

Disheartened from the failed attempt, he continued wandering around the castle until he stumbled upon the kitchen. He grabbed a snack for himself, as well as a few treats for Kasia. I should probably visit her tonight. He knew it was best if he checked in on her every night, to make sure she was okay, and things like that. He was all the family she had.

~0~

The painting hit the wall with a loud bang that echoed through the halls of the castle. Remus cringed. He’d tried to shut the entrance quietly, but it was hard to avoid slamming it. Hopefully it didn’t wake Roman. He traveled through the tunnels, knowing the path well. He’d mapped out the whole system before, no one knew them as well as he did.

Well, his cousins might. And maybe Roman, although he did seem pretty confused about how he got in without him knowing.

Hopefully they didn’t, in case he ever had to lose them down here.

Finally, he arrived at the chamber where he’d left Kasia. Upon seeing him, she leaped onto him, excited to see him again. “Hey girl, missed me, didn’t ya? Or maybe you just know I have food with me.” He tried to get up, but the manticore-chimera kept him pinned for a little longer. “Hey, get off. I love you too, but I can’t just stay down like this forever ya know.” He managed to escape from his pet’s hold and gave her some of the food he brought from the kitchen at Roman’s castle. He couldn’t reliably store food for Kasia down here since she would only eat meat, so he would have to come every night to feed her anyways. He wondered, for a moment, if one day he might show her to Roman. Nah, that probably wouldn’t end well. He remembered the games they played as kids and figured he’d be more likely to slay his pet than love her the way he did.

He couldn’t have anyone hurting Kasia. She was one of the few things in his life that meant anything to him. He would protect her with his life if he had to.

~0~

The passageway door still shut way too loudly when he came back. He had no idea how much time had passed, but he guessed it was quite late. Still, he didn’t want to go to bed just yet. He went to the balcony that overlooked the kingdom. Telos was far prettier to look at than Neblanc, no question about that. The city gleamed in the moonlight, it’s calm the complete opposite of the chaos that thrived where he ruled.

He felt almost a sense of peace, looking over the city.

This was what Roman lived with every day. And it really wasn’t all that bad.

He decided to get some sleep before dawn broke.


End file.
